ITN 425: Network Management Strategies and Proposal Report for MyPlace

This report, prepared for ITN 425, details network management strategies for the MyPlace project, focusing on improving network performance, fault tolerance, and security. It covers key areas such as network management using terminal servers and remote access, fault management techniques including active and passive monitoring, fault isolation, and automated resolution. Configuration management strategies encompass reducing human error, providing disaster recovery solutions, and ensuring accountability through version control and automated backups. Security management strategies include the implementation of IDS/IPS, firewalls, and VPNs, along with robust password policies and authentication methods to secure communications and access rights. The report emphasizes proactive network management, real-time upkeep, and the importance of a scalable and secure infrastructure to enhance customer experience and departmental functionality.

Aadil Stroman
ITN 425
Professor Patrick Coyle
MyPlace Proposal
Team 1 Section 5
Network Management Strategies:
Network Management
Fault Management
Configuration Management
Security Management
Goal:
To improve network performance, fault tolerance, and increase the level of security to maintain a
highly available and secure infrastructure. This will help improve the customer experience,
create a highly workable IT scalable environment and seamlessly provide for overall
departmental linkages centered on best IT business practices in a corporate organization.
Network Management Strategies
 Management Network
o Terminal Server
o HP ILO (Remote Server Access)
o File, DNS/DHCP, Database and Application Server
MyPlace their primary goal is a healthy, integrated, scalable real-time network. the health of the
network during normal operation to recognize potential problems, optimize performance, and
plan upgrades. By implementing Remote and Terminal Server in a 24/7 environment, it allows
for continual real-time upkeep of server functionality as it relates to the customer and their needs.
Customer/client access is key to a managed network as the focal point of customer interaction,
application availability and departmental functionality relies mainly on the foundation of
proactive network management. Companies that practice proactive management collect statistics
and conduct tests, such as response-time measurements, on a routine basis.
 Fault Management
o Detect: Capture events
o Isolate: Present Actionable Faults
o Inform: Notify Admins
o Evolve: Aid Faster and quality resolution(s)
As a functional staple, MyPlace will employ Active monitoring which helps proactively detect
an event by setting up thresholds for the monitors. Some examples of active monitoring are

ICMP Ping, TCP or UDP port check and performance counters monitoring. Also used will be
passive monitoring, as the NMS (Network Management System) listens for an event for e.g.
Syslogs, SNMP traps and Windows event log messages. Fault isolation will help identify the
events that have impacted the network’s performance. Fault management techniques such as De–
duplication, Correlation and Automation, will aid in identifying the root cause as well. As for
informing, the core function of this process is to let you know about the actual problem. This can
be through visual representation for the NOC administrators, trouble ticketing to helpdesk
technicians and alerting remote administrators through Email or SMS. In the Resolve phase, for
faster fault resolution, the NMS should have a proprietary knowledge when handling faults. In
case of any issue, the NMS should automatically run a particular command or program in a
remote machine to fix it.
 Configuration Management
o Advantages
 Reduces Human Error and Complexity
 Provides Disaster Recovery Solution
 Provides Set configurations to prevent unwanted changes
 Accountability (Windows Method for accountability) Who made what
changes and when?
 Version Control
o SCCM
o WSUS
o GPO
o Puppet
With Network Configuration Management (NCM), at MyPlace, we are able to schedule
configuration backups and restore trusted configuration versions, detect changes in real–time and
know the ‘who’, ‘what’ and ‘when’ of configuration changes. This will save time by automating
repetitive, labor–intensive tasks through templates and scripts, stop unauthorized configuration
changes with approval workflows, and assure complete security and compliance for every
configuration change including analyzing and troubleshooting network problems with
comprehensive reports. Also with the NCM add-on, you can either schedule or initiate
configuration backups on demand. An automatic versioning of backed up configurations are
taken and stored securely in an encrypted format in the database.
 Security Management
o IDS/IPS
o Firewall
 Firewall Policies
 Firewall Rules
 Port Scanning
 Password assignment

o Authentication
o RSA Token

 Password Policies
 Strong Passwords assignment
o VPN
o Provide secure communications with access rights tailored to individual users, such as
employees, contractors, or partners
o Enhance productivity by extending the corporate network and applications
o Reduce communications costs and increases flexibility and productivity from employees
who are mobile and/or offsite.
Security Management provides secure communications with access rights tailored to individual
users, such as employees, contractors, partners and the organization which is MyPlace as a
whole. It shall enhance productivity by extending the corporate network and applications, reduce
communications costs and increases flexibility within the organization including but not limited
to: an acceptable use statement to explain the procedures for user account administration, policy
enforcement, and privilege review.